Senior writer

"We can take a lot of confidence in the fact that the NSW economy is finally starting to pull its weight.": Mike Baird. Photo: Tamara Dean

NSW has emerged as Australia's economic pacesetter with figures showing it officially has the lowest unemployment rate of any state.

Nearly 14,000 jobs were added in NSW last month, seasonally adjusted figures from the Bureau of Statistics showed, keeping the state's jobless rate steady at 5.8 per cent.

For some years minerals-rich Western Australia has had the lowest unemployment rate among the states, due to demand for jobs driven by the mining boom. But the bureau's figures showed unemployment in WA was 5.9 per cent, seasonally adjusted. The jobless rate in the west has jumped 1.7 percentage points in the past three months.

Economists warn that monthly employment figures bounce around but the latest results underscored the relative economic strength of NSW as the effects of the mining boom on the national economy start to wane. Data released last week showed growth in state final demand - a key indicator of the state economic performance - has been stronger in NSW than any other state for the past two quarters. This was a first for the state.

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A Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment survey released on Wednesday showed NSW was the only state where optimists outnumbered pessimists and the most recent retail sales figures revealed stronger growth in NSW than any other state. Its housing sector continues to strengthen after a long period in the doldrums with residential building approvals up 5.4 per cent in January and 34.1 per cent through the year.

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird said the run of positive figures showed the NSW economy has momentum.

"NSW now tops the nation, with the lowest unemployment in the country," he said.

"It's been a long time coming but we can take a lot of confidence in the fact that the NSW economy is finally starting to pull its weight."

The national unemployment rate was unchanged at 6 per cent in February even though more than 47,000 jobs were added in the month. Full-time employment rose by 80,500, seasonally adjusted, in February but that was offset by a 33,300 drop in part-time jobs. However, the bureau warned that routine changes to the employment survey sample had contributed to the big rise in employment.

The national unemployment rate would have fallen, except for an increase in the participation rate, which is the proportion of potential workers with a job or looking for work. It climbed 0.2 per cent to 64.8 per cent.

The healthy employment figures follow weeks of negative news including staff cuts at Qantas and the future closure of car-making plants in Victoria and South Australia.

"Hopefully, the latest data will shift attention to the main engine of job creation - small and medium-sized businesses - rather than the job losses at a small number of larger companies," said CommSec economist Savanth Sebastian.

Queensland had the strongest jobs growth, adding more than 30,000 in the month, but its unemployment rate fell only from 6.2 per cent to 6.1 per cent.

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